Former PLA General's trial possibly in private: expert

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BEIJING, April 1 -- The trial of former senior military logistics officer Gu Junshan might not be held in public, a legal expert said in an article published in the People's Liberation Army (PLA) Daily on Tuesday.

Gu, former deputy head of the General Logistics Department of the PLA, was charged with embezzlement, bribery, misuse of state funds and abuse of power by the military procuratorate on Monday.

The case may involve production and procurement of logistics equipment in the army, which belong to military secrets, said Yu Xiao in the report.

Cases involving military secrets concern national security and are not allowed to be tried in public in accordance with laws, said Yu, adding it is an international judicial practice.

Under Chinese criminal procedure law, the court should give reasons in public for hearing the trial privately, Yu said.

All legal procedures must be strictly enforced and supervised by the procuratorial organ and the higher level court, said the report.

Yu said the military court will complete a review and accept the case within seven days.

The military court will form a collegial panel, deliver a copy of the indictment to the defendant and his counsel ten days ahead of the trial, the legal expert in the army said in the report.

"The investigation and trial against Gu is important and will have an active and far-reaching impact on cracking down on graft in the PLA," Yu added.